Caged bird
by Republic-of-Yolossia
Summary: Falsely accused of a horrendous crime, Tsvetan Borisov is now facing life in prison, hated by everyone. Whilst his friends try to prove his innocence, he struggles to cope in a grey and lonely world where even his own cellmate despises him. All the while, the real culprit is still at large... robul au, contains estukr, nedmac and sufin
1. Innocence

_Tsvetan- Bulgaria_

_Charlotte- Wy_

_Katya- Ukraine_

_Oscar- Hutt River_

_Rua- New Zealand_

_James- Australia_

_Alin- Romania_

…

Tsvetan flinched, shying away from the glares the inmates gave him as he was walked along grey corridors to his cell.

So they'd all heard then.

Who was he kidding; everyone had heard of him now, and the horrendous crime he was said to have committed: the murder of eight year old Charlotte Cook. His friends and family hated him; the country hated him; the whole world probably hated him. Crowds had screamed and shouted as he was lead from the court to a police van; the victim's brothers had cried and yelled during the trial at the apparently remorseless killer. He wasn't remorseless, just innocent and utterly confused.

Why had no one questioned it? Surely someone would have guessed he was innocent! They said it was because he had not denied it when questioned. At first he didn't, because he didn't understand what was happening! He still didn't have the clearest grasp of English, and the police questioning had confused him.

He'd only found the child, lying in a pool of blood in the street. He'd tried to save her even! Held her hand so she wouldn't be scared… told her everything was fine… cried with her…

And the police found him like that, covered in her blood with no other witnesses. He'd been too shocked and scared to move or get help, which sounded suspicious to everyone.

They said he was the one who dragged her from her front garden whilst she played. They said he lead her away and stabbed her.

But that wasn't Tsvetan!

He wouldn't dream of doing so horrendous and just plain unnecessary, but his loved ones didn't believe him. Already his immediate family had disowned him and cut him off completely.

There were Katya and Eduard of course, his closest friends. They'd tried to help him, but only after he'd begged them almost shamelessly, claiming they could put what they were learning in law school to good use. Even _they_ weren't convinced. Katya still promised that she'd prove his innocence, even after he got his sentence. She could've been lying of course, only saying that so he'd go quietly. What if she and Ed just left him to rot?

No, they were friends!

Friends who thought he was a sick, twisted lunatic.

He was facing a life sentence, wasn't he?

He wouldn't survive it. They'd tear him apart! What'd he'd supposedly done was so bad even the criminals despised him. There was a difference between killing someone your own size and murdering a tiny, helpless child. But he was innocent! He repeated that thought in his head over and over:_ I'm innocent; I'm innocent; I'm innocent! _Not that that would do any good. As he looked down miserably at his feet, he wondered where it all went wrong.

All he wanted was a fresh start after college and a quiet life running his little corner shop. He had that, and went through life believing nothing out of the ordinary would happen to him. He wanted to be a good man too, which was why, when he was walking home alone and came across the bloody and dying Charlotte, he'd tried to help her, despite the fact that she was a stranger. But she was too far gone for his help. He'd tried his best though, to make sure she didn't die alone. He'd sung softly to her to calm her, even if she couldn't understand what he was saying, and she remained calm, despite the agony she must've been in.

And he tried to explain that to the judge, over the cries of the girl's furious middle brother, Oscar Cook, and family friend, Rua Sheppard, who screamed abuse at him whilst the oldest brother, James Cook, just sat silently. When Tsvetan looked at him closely, he saw the man was resting his head in his hands, ignoring the tears streaming down his face and trembling. He looked so confused and haunted, like he still couldn't believe this was happening. Tsvetan guessed what he was thinking. He'd be having the same reaction if one of his own siblings had been murdered.

Despite his protests, there was little evidence to say that anyone else had done it, so he was given his sentence- life with a minimum of seventeen years- and led away.

When he got to the prison, he was searched for contraband items, given overalls to change into, and given a small talk on the general running of the place: mealtimes, break-times, day to day activities etc.

He'd not been paying too much attention though.

Now the wardens were leading him to his cell, where he'd live out his sentence. He didn't struggle, or try to escape. There was no point anymore. He gave up all hope of seeing the outside world, of being rescued by Katya and Eduard, and just let himself be led away and locked up. Maybe it was for the best though; he could feel his humanity slipping away bit by bit as he walked further into the prison. Or was it just his dignity that was disappearing?

Soon enough, the two guards either side of him stopped in front of a door, unlocked it and pushed him inside. After explaining a few features of the room, they left, locking the door behind them.

Tsvetan glanced around at his new home. It was tiny, and pretty cramped. There were bunk beds, a bench, some shelves and wash facilities. It was modern and recently built, but painted grey and already covered in graffiti and grime. The windows at the end were barred, evening light spilling through. He took all of this in quickly before turning his attention to his cell mate.

A young man, slightly younger than Tsvetan even, lay on the top bunk staring at him curiously. He had shaggy, light brown hair that nearly fell to his shoulders and bright red eyes that seemed to almost glow. Creepy. He was somewhat scrawny, with little in the way of muscle, as far as Tsvetan can tell. A good sign, the young man thought; it meant he probably wasn't in for a violent crime. But you never know…

'Hey I finally got some company!' the young man flashed him a grin, revealing a pointed fang. 'Hi! I'm Alin! Nice to meet you buddy. What's your name?' He climbed off his bunk and bounded over to Tsvetan, vigorously shaking his hand.

'Ts-Tsvetan,' he mumbled, looking away. The kid didn't seem like a bad person, but it was too early to tell just yet. He hoped the creepiness was just skin deep, as he'd probably be spending a lot of time with Alin from now on.

'So what are you in for then?' Alin leaned against the bunk beds, folding his arms and regarding his cell mate with interest. Tsvetan gulped.

'I was falsely accused of murder,' he mumbled, peering at the other to gage his reaction. He hadn't seemed to have recognised Tsvetan yet, a good sign.

'Sure you were,' Alin winked.

'No, you have to believe me! I'm innocent!' Tsvetan grabbed onto the sleeves of Alin's overalls, shaking. 'I didn't do it, but everyone says I did! Why won't anyone listen to me? I don't understand!' He probably looked insane, but didn't care. He just needed Alin at least to believe him.

'Okay buddy, calm down,' Alin chuckled nervously, removing Tsvetan's hands, 'I was only joking about. Fine, you're innocent or whatever. Now sit down and relax.'

'R-right.' Tsvetan settled awkwardly onto the lower bunk, hugging his knees. 'So why are you here? Pa-part of some creepy vampire cult?' He gave a short laugh at his own joke and even Alin giggled.

'Nope, I killed a man.'

'You're a murderer?' Tsvetan shrieked, crawling away from the other until he was pressed against the wall. The shelves at the end of his bunk digging into his back, but he didn't care.

Alin slowly walked towards him, smirking. 'That's right,' he growled, 'so you better do as I say.'

'You wouldn't… kill me too, would you?' Tsvetan was on the verge of tears now, trembling and longing for an escape.

'No!' Alin roared with laughter, poking his head under the bunk and grinning at Tsvetan. 'All I did was pirate a few films and sell them. Nothing big. I'm actually out of here soon.'

'Oh, okay,' Tsvetan gave a nervous smile, though his breathing was ragged and he was still trembling.

'You're a jumpy little bastard, aren't you?' Alin commented.

'Just terrified,' he mumbled in reply; 'they'll kill me.'

'Who will?'

'Everyone! The people here. They think I did it. They think I killed her…'

'Who?' Alin paused for a moment, staring at him closely, 'wait, you aren't… no way! You murdered that little girl!' His face grew dark and Tsvetan paled, shaking his head.

'I never! I'm not that sort of person!'

'How could you? Why? Why would you kill a small child? Hell, why would you kill _anyone_?'

'I didn't! I swear on my life I never touched her. Well, I did, but only to give her a hug when I found her because she was so tiny-'

'Give it a rest,' growled Alin, 'if you think you can appeal to my better nature with your lies then you're wrong. Now why did you do it?'

He kicked the bunk for good measure and Tsvetan flinched, unable to form words.

Whe he didn't get an answer, Alin snarled. 'Unbelievable. And I thought I was a scumbag.'

He withdrew his head and climbed into his own bunk; 'you better not move from that bed for the rest of the evening if you know what's good for you.' Tsvetan heard Alin move above him, settling down under his blanket before leaning over and hitting his bunk with a fist.

'Did you hear me?'

'D-da, err, I mean yes!'

'Then fucking answer.'

'Right.' Tsvetan slowly crawled over to his pillow and slipped under the blankets, a hard task due to his hands shaking uncontrollably. This was not a good start. His own cellmate hated him and he'd been here an hour or so.

And it would only get worse tomorrow.

He tried not to think if that, or the fact that he would be here for decades, unless someone here killed him. He didn't want to consider that that was a possibility, but it was pretty likely indeed. Alin might not be capable of murder, but a number of people in this place had proved they were, and would happily do it again. Right now he wanted to be anywhere but here.

Alin, meanwhile, was staring blankly at the ceiling. He'd been so happy to find that he had some company and immediately decided that he and this stranger should be friends.

But now?

He wanted nothing to do with the man! Why was he stuck here with this disgusting, messed-up, child-killer? The idea of someone like that being near him sickened him to the very core; if that was _his _little brother who died…

No, Alin could never imagine a world without his precious little Andrei beside him, but somewhere in the city there was a family who had to cope without their daughter or sister.

_Because of that man._

Feeling more alone than ever, Alin rolled over and closed his eyes.

…

**Err hello, Yolossia here. This is a new story I'm writing with ShowMeTheStarsIn221B, which is a robul human au set in New Zealand and we'll be alternating between chapters. Updates might be a bit infrequent, as we're both very busy and still haven't finished researching. But we'll get there eventually!**

**So… what do you think so far?**

**Stars says hi and sorry for the different writing styles!**


	2. Inconspicuous

_Note: Tsvetan's case manager - 2p!Canada__  
__Netherlands - Jan__  
__Macau - Cheng__  
__Punk!England – Arthur_

…

"So, Mr Borisov, let's cut to the chase."

Tsvetan looked up, eyes red rimmed and bloodshot. He did not sleep at all last night; instead he lay on his cold, hard bunk staring into nothingness, feeling as if he had died. Now, sitting on an uncomfortable chair across from his tough-looking case manager, he felt as if he had been dragged back from the afterlife kicking and screaming.

His case manager stared back at him, peering lazily over the ray-bans sunglasses he insisted on wearing inside. He folded his arms and leant back in his chair, flicking open a pack of cigarettes. To be honest, Tsvetan thought the man looked more like a murderer than he did. His frame was wiry but muscular, and his surprisingly soft blond hair was drawn into a messy ponytail. One curl stuck up from the rest of his hair, defying gravity as it bounced above his head. For some reason, Tsvetan couldn't stop staring at it,

"T-the chase?"

"Look, I don't wanna hear any of your pitiful little wines about you being innocent or some shit. I've been there, done that, bought the t-shirt. We're here today to discuss your future, not your past."

Tsvetan gulped. In his nervous state, he found himself unconsciously shaking his head, agreeing with his case manager's statement. His case manager raised one blond eyebrow menacingly, and Tsvetan hastily corrected himself.

"So, first thing's first kid. You don't _have _a future."

"I… What?"

"You heard me. You're in this shithouse for seventeen fucking years, if you can survive, that is." The case manager leant back again, lit his cigarette, and inhaled deeply. After a few seconds, he noticed Tsvetan watching him. "Want one?" he said, offering him the grubby packet.

Tsvetan declined. He used to smoke, but he decided that perhaps he should take up the opportunity to give up. If he was going to be imprisoned here for seventeen years, he might as well try his best to treat his body well.

"Anyway, I'm here to give you some advice."

Tsvetan looked up.

"This isn't the most dangerous prison in the country, not by a long shot. However, it's still full of people who would beat you up without showing any mercy. You're a child killer, which means that you're one fucked up little weakling, so you better watch your back."

Tsvetan's throat suddenly felt very dry. Hastily, he tried to swallow, but ended up coughing. The coughs that racked his body somehow changed on their way into insane giggling, which, in turn, transformed into dry sobbing. The case manager watched him coolly from the other side of the desk, blowing tiny puffs of smoke into Tsvetan's face.

"The most important thing is to stay out of trouble. Don't go messing around with any of the tough looking gangs, they won't give you protection, they'll just beat the shit out of you. Just keep your head down and maintain a low profile, understand?"

Tsvetan remembered to nod this time, trying desperately to calm his breathing. He could feel his heart rate quickening, and he gripped the edge of the desk for support. _I can't even take talking about life in prison, _he thought desperately, hiccupping, _how am I going to cope living it?_

…

When Tsvetan first stumbled into the recreation area, his first though was that it was full of faces straight out of a horror movie. His every action seemed amplified and incredibly visible, picked up by the hardened criminals with the pinpoint precision of a deadly shark, just waiting to strike. And Tsvetan, fit as he was, would be crushed as easily as a minnow.

His case manager's words echoed in his mind as he made his way through the room, searching for a secluded spot where he could keep his head down and stay unnoticed. That corner seemed good…

He'd only just made his way past the most hard-bitten of his inmates when suddenly he felt his feet slip out from under him, bringing him crashing down. He landed on something large and hard, and he hastily righted himself, blurting out apologies at top speed. However, once he met the eyes of the person he had fallen on, his apologies stopped dead on his tongue.

A pair of cold, startlingly green eyes glared at him silently from out of a long, chiselled face. A scar above the man's eyebrow arched into his untruly hair that stood on end in careful blonde spikes. The man's glare drilled down deep into Tsvetan and almost reduced him to jelly, it was so hostile.

"I-I'm sorry-" he squeaked, before all noise died down in his throat once again.

He had attracted the attention of this man's companions, who peered around his back to size Tsvetan up. To Tsvetan's amazement and utter relief, he noticed a familiar face leaning over the blond's shoulder.

"Oh, it's you." Alin scowled at Tsvetan, red eyes cold. "Just leave him Jan, he's too weak to do anything deliberate."

Tsvetan was torn halfway between protesting against his cellmate's accusations and kissing the ground at his feet for saving him. The tall man, Jan, looked ready to rip his throat out.

"Alin, do you know him?" This question had come from a small, rather childlike man with violet eyes who was staring at Tsvetan curiously.

Alin exhaled sharply through his nose and looked away. "Yeah, this is my new cellmate."

"I'm Tsvetan Borisov," Tsvetan offered. He tried to ignore Alin's glares of obvious contempt.

The other prisoners introduced themselves begrudgingly, some of them with more obvious underlining threat in their words. A dignified Asian man, Cheng, shook his hand politely, while a punkish youth, Arthur, just sneered at him and raised two fingers. Tino, the small one, introduced him with a smile that didn't quite meet his eyes. Tsvetan did his best to appear tough but likeable, but he was still extremely uncertain. His case manager had told him not to join any groups or make any friends, but what choice did he have? And all the while, the unspoken question hovered like threatening smog, hiding the true faces of those in front of him.

_What did you do to end up here?_

Tsvetan could only pray that it remained unasked.

"So this is your first day here?" Tino was still chattering on cheerfully, apparently unaware of the tension. "Don't worry, you'll get used to it. I was really scared when I first came here too, but I'm doing okay now. Everyone else knows not to mess with me anymore." Under those throwaway comments was a hardened undertone, with an obvious message. _Don't even think of trying anything._

"So how long are you going to be spending in here, mister Borisov?" asked Cheng, folding his hands in his lap. Tsvetan hesitated slightly before answering, a small quiver in his voice.

"S-seventeen years…"

There was a collective intake of breath around the table, sharp and fearful.

"So you're a lifer?" It was Arthur who had spoken, leaning his elbows on the table. "What the hell did a scrawny git like you do to earn yourself a life sentence?!"

"I'll tell you what he fucking did."

There was a heavy silence as everyone turned to look at Alin, his red eyes blazing. He had not spoken a word since Tsvetan first sat down until now; he had obviously let his anger stew until he couldn't stand it anymore.

"This man, this disgrace of a human being, has murdered a child, an eight year old girl, in cold blood. He stabbed her until her blood ran out onto the streets and the light drained from her eyes."

"I didn't-"

"And he still has the gall to proclaim himself innocent. Is that your way of coping, huh?" Alin's fists where clenched, words hard and painful. "You convinced yourself that it's all a lie? That's pathetic. You're disgraceful, pathetic, fucked up excuse of a person."

Tsvetan couldn't move. All he could do was sit there and listen to the angry words spilling from his cellmate's mouth. This was how the entire world saw him; this is who he was according to humanity…

The scraping of a chair broke the spell as Jan stood up. He didn't speak, he didn't raise a hand, as Tsvetan was expecting. Instead, he turned around and walked off, leaving their small company without another word.

"Jan!" Cheng stood up, rushing after the retreating figure of his friend. He was soon followed by Arthur, and finally, Tino. Only Tino spared Tsvetan a glance before he left, one so full of contempt and fear that Tsvetan felt his insides tremble.

Now it was only himself and Alin sitting around the table. He could feel the force of the Romanian man's stare boring through his skull, but he still refused to meet his eyes.

"Well? Aren't you going to leave me alone as well?" Tsvetan said bitterly.

Alin took a little while before replying, but his response cut even deeper into Tsvetan's heart. "It doesn't matter if I do or if I don't. You'll always be alone."

…

**H****i guys, this is Stars! I hope this chapter matches up to the last one!** (_It does!)_

**Any suggestions for the names of the 2p characters?**


	3. Infanticide

'Go on then, hit him!'

Tsvetan was slammed against the wall of his cell, held in place by one of Jan's muscular arms whilst Cheng egged him on. The larger man glared at him with such hate and fury, lips pulled into a snarl with a cigarette hanging from his mouth. Jan slowly drew his arm back, fist balled and aimed straight at Tsvetan's nose.

Cheng, on the other hand, appeared completely calm, standing slightly apart from the other two.

'What are you waiting for?' he asked Jan, 'it could've been one of our siblings he'd killed. Teach the fucker a lesson!'

Jan still didn't move. His frown deepened and a hint of something else graced his features for just a moment, not long enough for Tsvetan to tell what it was though.

'Please,' Tsvetan gasped, 'I didn't…' The hand around his throat tightened and Tsvetan felt his eyes bulge as he gasped for air. He broke into a cough, pain shooting through his bruised torso, where he'd been kicked to the floor and beaten repeatedly.

His first full day in prison had been rather uneventful; after that disastrous first encounter with the other inmates, he'd successfully managed to avoid confrontation and keep out of trouble by staying away from everyone else and keeping his head down. Another lonely night curled up in his bunk, after a round of verbal abuse from Alin, and Tsvetan was beginning to think he might be able to handle a life locked away so long as he just turned the other cheek and stayed out of confrontations. Turns out he could not have been more wrong.

Around twenty minutes ago, the other two had attacked him when he'd been hiding from everyone in his cell, dragging him off his bunk then Cheng held his arms behind his back whilst Jan threw punch after punch into Tsvetan's stomach until the young man was crying for mercy. He wanted them to leave him alone; he wanted someone to burst in and save him, but no one came.

No one here cared about him enough to stop them.

Alin was right; he would always be alone.

Eventually, Cheng let go of him and he fell to his knees, breathing slowly and trying to ignore the pain in his chest. He barely had the strength to breathe in and each time his ribs expanded, pain shot through his body, nearly causing him to throw up, or collapse altogether. The young man stepped over him, slipping past Jan and throwing him a final glare, plimsolls squeaking slightly as he walked across the hard, grey floor.

'Do you think that was enough to teach him?' he asked his friend.

'Hopefully,' Jan didn't even bother acknowledging Tsvetan, instead turning to Cheng, 'we might as well leave him alone for now. I think it's safe to say Tino will want a go too.'

'Yes he might get a bit angry if we don't leave anything for him,' Cheng giggled, almost manically, 'and nobody likes Tino when he's angry.'

'At least he won't get someone bigger to fight _for_ him.' The words were out of Tsvetan's mouth before he could stop them. _What the hell was he playing at_? Why was he trying to aggravate them further? They were about to leave him alone and now..?

'What was that?' Cheng wheeled around, trying his best to hide his fury.

'Nothing, I just think it's a bit pathetic that you're making Jan beat me up for you. Scared you couldn't take me on your own?' Tsvetan wondered where the hell he was going with this self-destructive bullshit. All he had to do was keep his head down and not retaliate to abuse, and most importantly not start trouble.

Except he hadn't started this. Cheng and Jan had marched into his personal space and attacked him. He had to stand up for himself, didn't he? He'd probably just condemned himself to a living hell, worse than before, but a tiny voice was telling him it would be worth it just to mess with them a bit.

'So, are you giving him anything in return? Does Jan get to do what he likes with you when no one's looking? You two seem pretty close, for friends…'

Cheng ignored that last remark, deciding to calmly wipe his glasses with his sleeve instead. 'I really don't think you're in any place to judge me for a little thing like attacking someone weaker, Borisov, after all, are you not in here for killing a small child who couldn't fight back? And for no reason too! At least here we're all adults, and it's safe to say you fucking deserve it.'

Tsvetan bit his lip, looking away; 'I didn't kill her.' He should've known they'd bring it up; how could he have forgotten?

'Sure you didn't,' Cheng turned to Jan, 'what do you say? I'm sure Tino will understand if we taught him another lesson.'

Jan nodded and grabbed Tsvetan by the throat.

So here he was, begging Jan to put him down and not hurt him anymore, struggling to wriggle free of his grasp and escape. He'd had enough of being beaten and trodden on for today and wanted to crawl into his bed, hide and pray tomorrow was kinder.

'Why do you keep saying that?' Cheng took a step closer, 'no one believes you.'

'Doesn't matter,' Tsvetan clawed at Jan's arm, 'it's still true!'

Cheng snorted.

'And what about you two?' Tsvetan glanced between Cheng and Jan, 'we're all in here for something. Don't act like you're a pair of fucking saints.'

'There's a big difference between a bit of burglary and taking a child's life away!' Cheng spat.

'I didn't do it!' Tsvetan gasped.

'Oh you're getting on my nerves!' Cheng ran a hand through his hair.

'Shall I shut him up?' Jan gave a small, fake smile.

'Go for it.'

…

Alin had just finished his catering lesson for the day and was heading back to his cell to read quietly for the rest of the evening. He liked catering, and wouldn't mind getting a job in that industry when he was released, which, thankfully, was pretty soon. The prison was helping him look for a job too, so he'd be less likely to reoffend and wind up back here. It was true though; the only reason he'd started selling illegal DVDs was because he couldn't find a proper job. Still, things were looking up for him and the young man couldn't wait for his fresh start to begin.

Hopefully his worm of a cellmate would he hiding somewhere else, and not be there to annoy him with his constant whining and desperate attempts to prove his innocence. Who did he think he was kidding? And if he really hated it here, then why commit the crime in the first place? Alin couldn't stop himself from wondering what had made Tsvetan do it. How sick and twisted did you have to be to enjoy stabbing an innocent child, causing all that agony, then watching the life leave her? Or had little Charlotte stumbled upon something she hadn't meant to and been silenced for it? No, that didn't make sense. The reports had said she'd been dragged from her own garden. If only that bastard would just admit he'd done it and just say _why_.

Alin slipped into his cell, making a beeline for his bunk when he heard a sniffle. Glancing down at the bottom bunk in disgust, he saw Tsvetan lying on his stomach, face buried in his hands as he sobbed noisily, apparently not caring who heard.

'Don't you think you're being a bit dramatic?' he asked, raising an eyebrow.

Tsvetan jumped slightly, lifting his head and staring at Alin with a miserable expression. His cellmate flinched away; he had to admit those were some pretty nasty bruises covering the guy's face and neck. One of Tsvetan's eyes was half-closed and bordered by a purple gash whilst a steady trickle of blood, emerging from his nose, slowly covered the lower half of his face. Alin could see more marks peeking out from under the collar of his prison uniform and guessed the guy was covered in them.

'Cheng and Jan,' Tsvetan explained, 'well, Jan really.'

'At least Tino didn't get you,' Alin wandered over to the sink to wash his face, telling himself that Tsvetan deserved what had happened to him.

'People mention him a lot,' Tsvetan commented, 'is he particularly bloodthirsty or violent?'

Alin paused for a moment. 'In a way. Look, I'll tell you this for nothing: don't mess with Tino Väinämöinen for two reasons. Firstly, he's a parent. The guy has two little boys, five and nine, so when he looks at you, just bear in mind that the thing crossing his mind is that dead girl and how she could have easily been one of his own kids.'

'But I never-'

'Secondly,' Alin shot him a harsh glare, 'though I admit I haven't really talked to many inmates, aside from the few guys I hang around with, Tino's the only person I know, apart from you, that's in here for killing someone.'

Tsvetan paled, gulping and pulling himself up into a sitting position. He knew that, sooner or later, he'd meet someone in here who'd actually committed murder, but he never thought for a moment that's they'd have a reason to actively single him out and attack him.

'He… murdered someone?'

'I believe the charge was 'voluntary manslaughter',' Alin wiped his face with a towel.

'But he looks like a kid!'

'Well why don't you go and kill him if he upsets you, seeing as that's what you like to do!'

Tsvetan flinched; 'so what happened?'

'A little incident a few years ago,' Alin paused, debating on whether or not to continue before deciding he might as well. 'Tino had recently married his long time partner, Berwald and they adopted the two kiddies and everything seemed perfect. Then one evening, an old ex of Berwald's, Ivan something or another, decided to visit and say congratulations, and Tino was the only one in the house. Everything started out all reasonable and civil but it kinda went downhill very quickly. Tino was a bit sketchy with the details; all I know is that one minute they were talking about Tino's wedding over a bottle of Finlandia the next they were on the floor throwing punches.'

'How awful,' Tsvetan covered his mouth with hand, staring at Alin in shock.

'Yeah, apparently he was absolutely terrified or something, because Ivan was about twice the size of him and had the upper hand. So long story short, he tried to strangle the guy with his own scarf but it was taking too long so he wriggled free, ran over to the cupboard where he kept his gun and shot him,' Alin tapped his forehead, 'right between the eyes. Berwald came home and found him on the floor crying because of what he'd done and covered in Ivan's blood; they had no choice but to phone the police. Tino's been in here ever since.'

'And you're okay being around him?' asked Tsvetan.

'Tino's sorry for what he's done,' Alin spat, puffing out his chest, 'he admits that what he did was wrong and is atoning for it, which is more than what I can say for you.'

'I don't know how many times I have to tell you this: I'm innocent!' Tsvetan let out a growl, standing up tall in an attempt to intimidate Alin, but his injuries sent him doubling over in pain, 'if I did kill that kid, then I'd admit it! I would apologise and own up for my actions, but the truth is that I've never committed murder, or manslaughter, in my entire life! I have younger siblings and care for them deeply and the idea of someone killing them in cold blood would crush me! Why would I take someone's life away for no reason?'

There was a pause before Alin spoke again, 'look, Borisov, I want to believe you and all, but the fact of the matter is: there's no evidence to say you didn't do it. I saw it on the news! You were the only one around and were found holding the goddamn body!'

'I only found her like that, I swear!' Tsvetan was losing confidence fast; the whole day was becoming too much for him emotionally and he didn't have the strength to argue back any more.

'Pah,' Alin glared at him and Tsvetan shrank back. Alin caught sight of a particularly nasty mark across his neck and winced; had Jan tried to strangle him earlier? The young man sighed and cursed his own weakness.

'Fine,' he muttered, 'I'll believe you, but for today only! Tomorrow we'll go back to normal but until then I won't say a word against you.'

'Really?' Tsvetan looked like Christmas had come early for him, 'thank you so much!'

'It's only for an afternoon,' Alin wrinkled his nose, 'after that you're on your own.'

'I understand,' Tsvetan's smile didn't fall, though Alin could see the disappointment in his eyes.

'Well… I could at least give you a tour of the place. I'm sure you got one when you first came here but it would be better hearing about the prison from someone who's actually lived here for a while and all,' he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

'I'd like that, thank you.'

'But don't go acting too friendly with me in front of everyone, okay?' Alin growled, 'no holding hands or any other shit like that. I have a reputation to uphold!'

Tsvetan began to shake his head before quickly correcting himself.

'Fine, now let's go,' he marched out of their cell, not bothering to wait for the other man.

…

**Hello there! Not much to say, except please say what you think so far!**


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